Validity of Isokinetic Hamstring Testing

I've just been asked to review a paper that compares the "conventional" concentric/concentric hamstring/quad torque ratio test vs. a "dynamic ratio control" test that measures eccentric hamstring torque vs concentric quad torque (not at the same time). This particular study did the testing on college distance runners.

Admittedly, I've not been a big fan of this kind of testing for and description of hamstring or quad function. It is non-weightbearing and is capable of testing only at the knee joint, with the hip joint static. Just how functional and practical is this type of information for the ATC, PT and strength coach? Is direct measurment of single joint/muscle torque informative, even if it is a measure of eccentric strength, with regard to sport rehabilitation or performance? Or is this one aspect of sport science that misses the mark on providing useful information when it comes time to hit the court or the field?

Comments?

Comments

Joe Przytula said…
We had a group of PT's come in one year and do knee cybex testing on our Varsity FB team. EVERY player came up with a quad/ham imbalance. That would make sense because we didn't even have a leg extension/curl machine. That team had no knee sprains or hamstring strains also. Oh yeah, we were state champs too.
8:43 AM
Tracy Fober said…
I love it! I thought this isokinetic stuff was out the door. Old hat. But I guess people need research projects to do, eh?
12:28 PM
Anonymous said…
we have a Cybex. As an ATC, I don't use it unless the Doc orders it. IMO, too much set up time, too much variablilty in the patients understanding of the test, and our software is terrible.

I would rather have my clients and patients perform movements I can assess visually and get feedback from them verbally.

I do not rule it out as tool for incorporating within the rehab protocol, meaning doing "sets" with it...but my opion, better ways to test.
7:53 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Form and Function

Image
Way back in 2002, I scanned these images by Howard Schatz from Sports Illustrated (October 14, 2002). A fascinating array of elite female athlete physiques, heights and weights, eh? These are some of the women featured in his book Athlete --a very cool pictorial essay that celebrates athletic form and function.
Read more

It's About Preparing People, not Preventing Injuries

ACL injuries do not happen in a void. People sustain injuries when their infrastructure is unable to manage a specific set of physical circumstances. To describe the mechanism of the injury without the context of the person and their level/type of sport, is to miss valuable insight. In sport, we prepare the person, to the best of our understanding, to meet the physical demands of that sport. We do not just work to prevent one particular injury; we prepare athletes to navigate the total sport physical environment. By "we" I mean the coaching and support staff -- specifically the athletic development staff.  Athletic development (AD) coaches prepare athletes through the development of physical literacy and movement competencies via movement progressions. It is more than strength, power, agility; it is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors to manage themselves within the entire sporting environment. At the higher levels of sport, AD coaches coordinate wit...
Read more

Strength: Overcoming Tradition & Assumptions

Image
The term "strength" comes with many images and stereotypes. The most common stereotype usually includes intimidating men who look like action figures, in spaces that look like iron jungles. Strength is associated with mass gain, limb girth increases, muscle hypertrophy and maximal force production against an external load. With regard to lower body strength, we speak in terms of multiples of bodyweight (BW), with the ratio of 2x BW historically viewed as necessary and desirable. We have historically trained in terms of 1 RM. There has been a trend recently to adopt a VBT (velocity based training) approach, as we know 1 RM changes on a daily basis and technology now allows us to more finely tune things with velocity as the target within each set. These things can be helpful as we initially learn to measure and document progress. But I think it is important to step back from this narrow outlook, because this view of strength does not serve all of us well, in either the rehab or...
Read more